Asked to pick the single most important reason for companies of all types to go online, more than 50 percent said the growth of customers demanding the convenience. Another 33 percent said the opportunities for companies to reach out to consumers through the popular channel. Fewer than 5 percent answered that the most important reason was expectations that efficiencies of electronic transactions could lower costs.

The group was split over how long it will take for businesses of all types to generate enough profit to recover the investments in developing Internet services. Nearly half said this could occur in three years or less, by 2001. An equal number said it would occur between 2002 and 2005. Just 2 percent predicted it could take until as late as 2010.

More than 60 insurance executives from Allstate Insurance Company, Travelers Property Casualty, John Hancock Financial Services, Transamerica Occidental Life Insurance Company and other leading insurers attended the two-day conference at Intuit’s headquarters and in San Francisco. It was the second annual meeting held by Intuit with the carriers participating in the Quicken InsureMarket service and other insurers, for presentations and discussions of online financial services growth and other issues.

"The Internet is underhyped, not overhyped," said Scott Cook, Intuit founder and executive committee chairman. He called the Internet a technology that can have the same far-reaching impacts as the printing press or the auto, but said "it won’t take decades" for those growth forces to emerge.

Bill Harris, Intuit president and chief executive, told the audience that the Internet provides opportunities to serve consumers by creating partnerships and alliances that package the services they want with the information they need to make decisions and better manage their financial lives. "If we can combine what we do, build great interactive tools, with what you do, provide great financial products, we can provide great customer satisfaction," he said.

Additional Survey Results
Prior to the conference, Intuit collected 45 survey responses from insurance executives attending, and released the results during the meeting. More than 56 percent of the group believes that the most important use of the Internet for consumers in five years will be communication -- e-mailing friends and relatives, or participating in special interest services, such as those for parents or investors. Nearly 37 percent said transaction services, like banks and brokerages, and shopping sites would be the most important. Less than 10 percent believed news and entertainment would be the most important.

The Internet will play a major role in the insurance business within five years, according to the survey. Asked what percentage of financial service firms selling insurance will offer at least some products for purchase via the Internet, nearly 40 percent said 75 percent or greater. Less than 20 percent of the respondents thought the percentage would be below 40 percent.

Similarly, the insurers said they expected consumer use of the Internet to play a role in a large share of transactions within five years. A slight majority (18 out of 35 responding to the question) said half or more of all insurance transactions will involve the customer’s use of the Internet, either to make initial inquiries and contact with a carrier, or to complete the entire process.

The group of insurance industry officials possesses substantial online experience. Nearly 90 percent of their companies have Web sites, and more than half of those have been online for more than two years. The great majority of respondents, 80 percent, also said they had online access at home. More than 80 percent said they have used search engines, while 67 percent said they have used America Online. Almost 65 percent said they have used a site where they could purchase big-ticket items such as cars, airline tickets or computers. More than half of those said they had bought at those sites. A third of the respondents said they have used online brokerages.

In rating Web sites from various industries, 82 percent of respondents gave new media sites like Yahoo and Excite a grade of "A" or "B." Media sites like the Wall Street Journal, ESPN and CNN were also given an "A" or "B" by 82 percent of respondents. More than 53 percent of respondents gave brokerage company sites a "B," while 47 percent gave banks a "C."

Asked to grade their own company sites, 47 percent of the insurers said their grade would be a "C."

For insurance industry sites overall, 36 percent of the group gave their business a "D," while 21 percent said the industry earned a "C." Those grades are expected to rise to "A" or "B" within two to three years, according to 82 percent of the respondents.

Quicken InsureMarket is the leading insurance site on the Internet, with participation from major, national insurance carriers, and the ability to offer real-time rate quotes and online payment options, which can speed the process of buying insurance. The full-service site also features a library of educational material so consumers can learn more about insurance, as well as interactive insurance planning tools and information from independent insurance experts.

Intuit Insurance Services, Inc. (IIS), a wholly owned subsidiary of Intuit, or its designated employees are licensed as insurance agents for life and health in 50 states and Washington, D.C., and as agents for property and casualty in 49 states and Washington, D.C. IIS also associates with licensed resident agents in those states where insurance transactions must be conducted with or through resident agents.

Quicken InsureMarket is part of Quicken.com (http://www.quicken.com), which provides individuals with information and software tools to help them make better financial decisions. It then provides links to leading financial service providers so consumers can implement those decisions more conveniently than ever. Quicken.com content is also offered at some of the most widely accessed sites on the Internet, as the exclusive provider of personal financial tools on such sites as CNNfn (http://www.cnnfn.com/quickenonfn) and Excite (http://quicken.excite.com). Quicken InsureMarket is also a primary source of content and programming on the Insurance Center on America Online.